In my previous article How to install vCenter Orchestrator (vCO), I walked you through a screen-by-screen installation of vCO. The only major item lacking from that previous article is the ever-important configuration steps. In the past, many people have had troubles with getting the configuration of vCO correct. This article is an effort to help walk you through each of the screens to provide you insight and recommendations on how to get vCenter Orchestrator configured and working in your environment.

We have just added a new section to the vCO Team Website for Frequently Asked Questions in the format of Q & A. We've broken the section out into multiple Categories and begun populating the categories with some common Questions we have encountered over the last few years.

This article is the first in a series of tutorials for developing a basic VM self service portal. It is meant to be educational rather than exhaustive. Other articles will follow up for supporting more advanced features and a less static configuration.

Concepts covered in this article include:

How to create a simple Workflow

How to map inputs, outputs, and attributes

How to launch a Workflow from a webview, using the vCenter Orchestrator Weboperator

How to launch a Workflow from the vCenter Orchestrator Client

NOTE: Webviews were deprecated and removed in vRealize Orchestrator 7.0 - this article only applies to earlier versions of Orchestrator.

To increase usability and acceptance of vCO we - mightycare solution - created a vCO Plugin for vSphere Client. So admins and users has a direct access to the big world of vCO workflows. Actual our Beta comes up with following features:

customizable context menu for virtual machines

state and parameter values for running workflows

optional prompt for finished workflows with values and state (can be checked for each flow)

customizable input for input parameters - predefined or prompt for input (for each parameter in each flow)

Are you getting started with VMware's vCenter Orchestrator? vCO can be a challenge or a breeze to learn depending on your skill sets and what you're trying to accomplish. It allows for the creation of very complicated workflows with minimal effort if you know where to look and are familiar with the interface. Knowing where to look can sometimes be key.

I've launched this site in an effort to help enlighten those getting started with vCO so I welcome your feedback. Please take a moment to either reply to this post or use the Contact Us form to submit your recommendations for topics that I may cover in the coming weeks.

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NUC Lab Kit

Below are my thoughts for a vSAN nuc lab. Since I already have cables, not including them here. I ordered (and received by Nov 30, 2016)3 x nuc, 3 x 32GB Crucial mem, 3 x Toshiba NVMe drive, 3 x Startech USB to GB NIC, and 3 x Crucial 1TB SSD. I've also been very happy with my Cisco SG300-10 so I bought one more since my existing one only has one port available. Each of the items listed here are linked below - all were purchased using the provided links below.single NIC (See this post for details on using the USB -> GB NIC item listed below

I stayed with the i5 for the power consumption and form factor vs. the i7 Skull Canyon ;)